Speaking Spanish with Abdullah, Yves Saint Laurent and Mint Tea...Bonjour Marrakech!

I'm here and alive (that's for David W), Marrakech!  I arrived yesterday in Casablanca and took a quick flight here.  I wish I could tell you about the flight but I fell asleep before we took off and woke up when we landed.  I took the bus from the airport to Djemaa el Fna for the bargain price of 20dh and found my way down the winding alley to the Hotel Atlas (about $22/night see first pic), cheap, clean and cute.  Djemaa el Fna, where do I start.  By day it's a market full of snake charmers, storytellers and monkey handlers with fresh orange juice and dried fruit stalls.  At night it comes alive with tons of open air restaurants selling everything from couscous and tajines to snails and sheep head with eyes.  Every vendor has a sales pitch and tries to grab/charm you into eating at their stall, usually accompanied by a little rhyme to help you remember the stall number.  I roamed around yesterday after I checked into my hotel, had lunch and then sat of the roof of the hotel relaxing in the sun and talking with Abdullah, the guy who works at the hotel.  His English is ok, my French is practically nonexistent so we settled on a language that we both equally understood...Spanish.  After sunset and a shower I shockingly fell asleep till 11:00 pm!  I woke up starving and headed out to Djemaa el Fna.  Still half asleep and unable to cope with being accosted by the gentlemen at the food stalls I opted for outside dining at an actual restaurant where I had a delicious vegetable tajine and a couple mint teas.  Full and happy I went back to my room and read awhile before falling back to sleep.  I woke up at 12:30...yes, in the afternoon!  After a little breakfast and coffee (maybe I should call it lunch) I was off to Jardin Majorelle. It's a beautiful garden created by the French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920's and then owned and maintained by Yves Saint Laurent (which now includes a small memorial in his honor). And that my friends brings us to now where I sit at this computer.  Here are some pics of the few things I've seen so far.  Jill (the Jir for those of you who only know her by that name) joins me on Friday when hopefully I'll have more to tell.  Wish me luck finding something to do for New Year's eve.  I hear the Muezzin's call so it must be about 7:00 pm.  That's it for now.  Peace out...Jan